Fairfield University faculty members Dr. Sheila C. Grossman, professor of nursing in the School of Nursing, and Dr. Sonya Huber, associate professor of English in the College of Arts & Sciences, are the University's Alpha Sigma Nu Teachers of the Year. The honors were decided on by Fairfield students. Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Jesuit Honor Society, serves to reward and encourage scholarship, loyalty, and service to the ideals of Jesuit higher education.

Rev. Charles H. Allen, S.J., special assistant to the president and university chaplain, said one of the "glories" of Fairfield University is that as a small university, tremendous bonds of affection and admiration grow between the student body and their faculty. "The Alpha Sigma Nu Teacher of the Year Award gives both the undergraduates and the graduate students the opportunity to express their gratitude to two individuals on the faculty who are outstanding in their commitment to the Jesuit values of education," Fr. Allen said. "Dr. Sheila Grossman in the School of Nursing and Dr. Sonya Huber in the English Department represent for their students all that one could ask from a member of the faculty of this Jesuit university. May the good that they do for so many continue far into the future."

Dr. Huber, of Stratford, Conn., is the author of two books of creative nonfiction, "Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir" (2010), finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year, and "Opa Nobody" (2008), shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize. She has also written a textbook, "The Backwards Research Guide for Writers: Using Your Life for Reflection, Connection, and Inspiration" (2011). Her work has been published in The New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, Brevity, Fourth Genre, Crab Orchard Review, Hotel Amerika, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post Magazine , and other journals. She received the 2013 Creative Nonfiction Award from Terrain and her work will appear in "The Best of Creative Nonfiction." She teaches in the Department of English and in the Fairfield Low-Residency MFA Program.

The coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner Track, Dr. Grossman, of South Yarmouth, Mass., is an award-winning author of textbooks, published articles, and undergraduate and graduate curriculum on the nurse practitioner role, critical care nursing, simulation teaching, palliative care, leadership, mentoring, and end-of-life care education. In 2012, Dr. Grossman was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), the most prestigious honor in the field of nursing. Her most recent honors pertaining to teaching include the Nurse Practitioner Education Award from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty, and the Josephine Dolan Award for Outstanding Contributions to Nursing Education from the Connecticut Nurses Association. Dr. Grossman is also the transitional author of the 9th edition of "Porth's pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States," published in 2013 by Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. She received the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) 2009 Book of the Year Award for "The New Leadership Challenge: Creating A Preferred Future for Nursing," and the AJN 2007 Book of the Year Award for "Mentoring in Nursing: A Dynamic and Collaborative Process." In addition, she was named an expert on mentoring by the American Nurses Association and serves on the American Association of Nursing Commission on Certification as the Family Nurse Practitioner representative. Dr. Grossman is also a practicing Family Nurse Practitioner in primary care.

Image: Fairfield University faculty members Dr. Sonya Huber, left, and Dr. Sheila C. Grossman, right, are the University's Alpha Sigma Nu Teachers of the Year. They are pictured with Fairfield University President Rev. Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J.

Posted On: 05-22-2014 03:05 PM

Volume: 46 Number: 308